What the F?! Uber.

So the other night I was at a super awesome party thrown by my super awesome company, POPSUGAR. It was our summer partnership party and it was AWESOME. Lots of partners showed up so there was lots of schmoozing…We had a performance, food and of course – open bar.

Schmooze, eat, drink – repeat. For a few hours. Party came to an end and I realized “I got to get home”…So I called trusty Dial 7 to get me back to Jersey “sir…there is a 2 hour wait for a car”. That won’t do…OK, “Let’s see what you got UBER!” I said as I whipped out my phone and opened up the app. Next thing I remember…I am in BLACK SUV comfortably chatting it up with the driver about just how AWESOME UBER is.

Let me paint the picture…it was late, raining and we were down town at the Bowery Hotel. Not the most ideal situation for getting cabs/cars. There was an insane wait by the entrance and everyone was fighting for cabs. NOT ME…I remember walking right out front, seeing the UBER sign and peacing out as I made fun of everyone getting rained on. The entire ride back to Jersey I spoke to the driver about how great UBER is…”wow, that was incredible. I’m going to use you guys ALL THE TIME”. Everything was roses until…..I got the receipt emailed to me and I checked it the next morning. $258!! Ouch…yes, Two hundred and fifty eight bucks for a 30 minute/20 mile trip home. “WTF!!??” I thought. “Has to be a mistake…”

I emailed UBER angrily the next morning after sharing the story with co-workers over a sausage egg and cheese. “That’s NUTS!” everyone agreed because the normal fare would be half that price. “You should get a refund!” I agreed…So I emailed. I was really happy to see such a quick reply and figured I would get some kind of refund thanks to my angry tone and my potential consumer loyalty….NOPE. Turns out, as the friendly customer service guy explained, there was a “High Demand/SURGE charge” because of that rain and the time of night. AND…(it gets better) apparently I agreed to this. WHAT? No I didn’t…wait, yes I did.

I definitely remember agreeing to a “higher than normal price” – but TWO TIMES the cost. I would have never done that. Oh wait…apparently I did. Not only did I agree but I pressed…literally 2.0 on the app so to get the ride. WHOOPS. My anger was misplaced…looks like that open bar got the best of me. Sorry UBER…you really are awesome but – you might want to enforce an open bar policy with extra checks and balances for those like myself to ensure no further confusion around price hikes and high demand times. Just a suggestion.